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Letter to the Editor: Wilkes-Barre council candidate Tony Brooks devoted to city

<p>&#8220;Where does all this stuff come from?&#8221; I asked myself, shaking my head in frustration as I contemplated the big pile of junk I&#8217;d assembled in my cellar, ready for the annoying (and costly) periodic task of disposal.</p><p>Suddenly I heard a rustling sound from over by the old coal bin.</p><p>&#8220;Ahem,&#8221; came a voice. &#8220;I believe you know, sir.&#8221;</p><p>Out of the shadows stepped a formally dressed gentleman, Victorian dandy&#8217;s cane in hand.</p><p>&#8220;OK,&#8221; I sighed. &#8220;You obviously didn&#8217;t crawl in through the coalhouse window. So who are you and how did you get here?&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;That, my good man, does not matter,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Since your ego is shielding you from the obvious answer to your question &#8211; where does all this stuff come from &#8211; I am here to enlighten you. For I am the Spirit of Junk Past, Present and Future.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Yes, and I&#8217;m Charles Dickens,&#8221; I said, holding out a hand of welcome to him.</p><p>Ignoring me, he continued. &#8220;Look right here,&#8221; he said, touching the tip of his cane to a dusty old toolbox that I hadn&#8217;t used in years. &#8220;Remember when you bought it in 1987?&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Sears had a sale,&#8221; I replied.</p><p>&#8220;If you&#8217;d thought a minute or two in the store, you&#8217;d have known it was too small and odd-shaped for your needs. You&#8217;d have kept the money, and you wouldn&#8217;t have it on the pile today.&#8221;</p><p>I nodded. &#8220;Maybe I should put it out front on the tree lawn and see if somebody can use it.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Noble of you,&#8221; the spirit smiled behind his monocle. &#8220;But it would have been nobler to think before buying.&#8221;</p><p>He touched his cane to a small red contraption.</p><p>&#8220;Ah, that&#8217;s a device that shoots a laser light and helps you to hang a row of pictures nice and straight,&#8221; I said. &#8220;But I lost one of the parts.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I seem to recall you tossing it onto your work bench instead of putting it away properly,&#8221; the spirit said. &#8220;Yes, a small part got lost. Just one small part, plus the instructions! Congratulations - you chose the absolutely quickest way to convert a useful device to nada.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I guess there&#8217;s a principle there,&#8221; I said, nodding in agreement, and expecting an &#8220;atta boy&#8221; from him. &#8220;A little bit of carelessness can turn the cleverest tool into a candidate for the trash bin.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;You&#8217;re kind of like old King Midas,&#8221; the spirit smiled. &#8220;Except that when he touched something it turned to gold, not the reverse.&#8221;</p><p>With his elegantly shod foot he tapped a cracked and decrepit 50-foot hose sliding off the trash pile.</p><p>&#8220;You really should have brought this in before winter last year,&#8221; he said.</p><p>&#8220;Ummm, I intended to, but &#8230;&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Procrastination, Mr. Mooney, procrastination! &#8220;You didn&#8217;t postpone watching the bowl games, did you? By the way, are you ever going to use this can of paint from 1993? The lid is, well, rusty, and the color splotch has faded away.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;How much longer does this lecture last?&#8221; I groaned.</p><p>&#8220;You know, back in the 1930s I hardly ever had to visit anyone like you. Those folks knew how to buy and how to use what they had.&#8221; He shook his head at me. &#8220;Can you spell &#8216;spoiled&#8217;?&#8221;</p><p>Then quickly the Spirit of Junk Past, Present and Future was gone.</p><p>I looked at the trash pile. Then I added the storm door screen that I&#8217;d had specially made &#8211; a half-inch too wide.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Remember When </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_TOM_MOONEY2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Remember When </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Tom Mooney</p><p>Remember When</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Tom Mooney is a Times Leader history columnist. Reach him at tmooney2@ptd.net.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Remember When: Are you haunted by the Spirit of Junk Past, Present and Future?